PotPie

On a December night in 2002, John Williams (then a chef at a French bistro) and his wife, Sarah, baked potpies from scratch to give as holiday gifts. They ended up eating them at home, sparking an ongoing joke about the dish. So when the couple opened a cozy, family-run restaurant in the Westport neighborhood the following August, PotPie naturally became its name. The only problem? There is no potpie on the menu.

"People would get mad and leave because we didn't have it," John says. Now, patrons can choose from two: traditional chicken with vegetables or beef and mushroom. The menu, scrawled on a wall-size chalkboard, has the pies and more. John gives down-home cooking an upscale edge, mixing traditional American foods with a French flair. Dishes include seared scallops with blueberry sauce, chicken roasted in a cast-iron pan and Brie tart with red-wine caramel sauce (John's favorite).

Open Tuesdays—Fridays for lunch and dinner, Saturdays for dinner.